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Good Neighbors by daw the minstrel	24 Review(s)
thechevin	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/17/2004
Oh how I loved this chapter from Malantaur's opinions on certain 'Captains'he did it so well too so that the sons of Elrond might miss the real meaning of hiswords but Eilian most certinly would not I am glad that Ithilden insisted on his presence if anyone can keep them out of trouble it is Malantaur even the twins seem to recognise his authority perhaps he reminds them of Glorfindel! And Legolas half remembering Mithrandir how sad this was! As well as our human refugee I don't think the elflings can keep him quiet much longer. Did Legolas hand over one of his peacock fletched arrows? If he did that is surely going to land him in trouble there cannot be many other arrows with that particualr feather fletching the same applies to the other two elflings as well How I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at the meeting of Thranduil and Ithilden no wonder Legolas discarded the idea that they had been arguing Eilian yes Ithilden no! wonderful chapter Judy Author Reply: I'm thinking that Maltanaur is most concerned with making sure that Eilian comes back in one piece. He's probably like to return the twins unharmed too because he's a good guy and besides he doesn't want to have to write a letter to Elrond explaining how one or both of them became Orc bait. But his real concern is, as always, Eilian. I was very pleased when Legolas's memory of Mithrandir surfaced for me as I thought about how he must smell and remembered the claim that smell is a very strong evoker of memory. I did like the image of him keeping in touch with his father (literally). As the sole parent, Thranduil is so central in his life. The kids aren't using their own arrows yet, so they gave Rodda the standard training arrows. But he has only three (one from each elfling) and I don't think he has enough. :-) It was fun to write about Legolas seeing but not believing that there was tension between his father and oldest brother. Glad you liked the chapter, Judy.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/17/2004
'Actually, he's amazing because he's been able to separate from his strong father to become a person with ideas of his own who yet usually gets along with that father. He's willing to differ with Thranduil. I wonder how he got to be that way.' Largely, I think, Naneth. Author Reply: Oooh. Good point.

Duchess	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/17/2004
A perfectly delightful part and I enjoyed it immensely! vbg I hope Rodda is better soon. Can someone smack Turgon for making him think of awful battle scenes that obviously made him sick? At least I hope that's the reason and not that the boy is carrying some kind of bug that the Elflings could catch! Amdir is such a handful. sigh Your author's note at the end answered my other question, thanks! :) Author Reply: Glad you liked it! I think the elflings are resistant to human diseases, but your guess is a good one, I think. :-) Amdir reminds me of all the pesky little sibs my friends ever had. He loves Turgon and finds him and his friends fascinating. Too bad the older kids don't find him good company!

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/17/2004
Let me tell you something... I.. do not like stories with lots of OCs around, and I am not particularly fond of Mirkwood fanfiction.. as can be found out there... and then... Voilá! I happened to click on this story... and read its first four chapters on a row... and then.... well since then i've been.. trying to catch up with this wonderful world you've created. In my humble opinion (I'm neither a writer not have done a career in literature or linguistic, I'm simply a devoted reader, and not even english speaking)you've managed to build up such a credible world ,that everything in it seems...simply to fit in. I've just done some random reading of chapters and stories (neglecting your much useful index, I know) and.. everything makes sense: the characters are not only lovable but...they seem strongly familiar to me: your Thranduil comes alive as if directly taken from the hobbit: a strong willed, caring and powerful leader of his people, with an abiding love for his forest and that elven wisdom and goodness we can only assume in such a great elf. I'm awed, and I'm so glad I have run into this treasure chest that I'm looking forward to next Yule to spend sometime in your Mirkwood! Regarding this story, well! I can only say that you are brave enough to try and make Eilian come alive from such party.. with Elrond's Terrible Twins at the peak of their rage... wow! I wouldn't be in Maltanaur's shoes for anything in this world..but then.. I suppose he has survived too many things not to be a bit amused by the prospect of this particular one. I just hope he is not the one to pay for all.. And the kids are.. so.. cute!!! Legolas would kill me, but they are cute, it's funny how those little heads work.. full of good feelings and wild imagination and complete lack of "adult" common sense. I'm looking forward to see the end of this.. "petting a human child!!!! I bet they will not understand when somebody gets enraged at their "carelessness" (Carelessness? We are feeding him!!"") Sorry for the long review but I.. just simply had to tell you. Fantastic!!! Thanks for your time!!!! perelleth Author Reply: Oh wow. That is such a compliment. I know that many readers are put off by Legolas stories in general, so I am so grateful that you gave this story a chance and so flattered that you are enjoying it and even clicking around on the other stories. Thranduil is an interesting character to me. He held onto his realm with no ring of power throughout the Third Age, and in The Hobbit, he seems to have some sort of powerful magic. I think he draws it from the earth and forest. I see him as very connected to it in a more primitive way than, say, Elrond is. Maltanaur will have his hands full if he tries to keep all three of the E's under control. I think his main concern is to prevent Eilian from coming to harm. Thranduil chose well when he picked Maltanaur to be Eilian's bodyguard. He's obviously fond of his charge but not willing to put up with any nonsense. And the kids are cute indeed. They do act as if they've found a stray animal and brought him home ("Can I keep him, Ada? Please!"). I don't see this as in the same category as some of the other things Legolas has done over the years, such as sneaking out at night, for instance, because it's not like he's disobeying or anything. He's just following his kid-like instinct to protect another kid and so exercising very poor judgment, even though they do feed him. :-) "Sorry for the long review" -- Yeah. Because authors just hate that. ;-)

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/17/2004
There are some lovely character studies here into relationships. I like the contrast of Legolas's thoughts about his father: 'Thranduil had an alarming ability to tell when Legolas was hiding something.' and then this: 'Legolas knew that his father was not telling him everything, but then he seldom did.' Like father, like son. I also like the way he senses the atmosphere between Ithildin and their father - and wouldn't have been surprised if it had been Eilian. That seems sad. Poor Rodda must have seen some unpleasant sights - no wonder he wants to get away :( However, my main question is: when are we going to see E3 kick orc butt? Jay Author Reply: Everything is taking me longer to tell than I expect, but E3 is getting much closer to the orcs, who should be considering leaving (but aren't). :-) I never even thought about that comparison between Thranduil and Legolas! You're so right though. Of course, given Rodda, it's probably good that some things are kept from Legolas and the other elflings. He's a kid who's seen things he shouldn't have. I once read a book by Kathleen Kurtz (good fantasy novels) in which one character took his step son along to battle with him as a page. The kid was maybe 7 at most. One scene sticks in my head in which they were having to put down some horses that had been wounded and the step father stands with the kid's head pressed into his side, so he won't see. I was thinking about that as I wrote about Rodda.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/17/2004
That poor child has Seen Too Much. He is actually a reminder of how much effort is put into protecting the elflings to ensure that they do not see and know things they are too young to cope with, so that they are able to think about war and battles with stars in their naive little eyes. (They do need to steal him a more mixed diet, though. If he was a horse, he'd get colic.) Little Amdir looks as if he might be just as much trouble now as he grew to be later - nothing like a little brother shoving his nose in to reveal secrets. Although, I wonder if his mother would notice - or if she would just smile vaguely and give Rodda some bread and jam. I know how they could keep secrets from Ithilden at the moment, though. All they have to do is rope Tonduil into what they are doing and then get him to wave Alfirin in front of the troop commander. His nose will turn towards her like a compass to the north and his eyes will go vague and they will be able to speak softly and get him to murmur agreement to most things. That must have been some meeting between Thranduil and Ithilden, if Legolas is picking up on the unspoken messages. Poor Ithilden. He needs paternal approval so badly - he seems to have spent all his life developing into the sort of leader of whom his adar will be proud and he doesn't seem to have many other outlets for affection. At least until he and Alfirin manage to sort themselves out. Good for Mithrandir. Stress the prophecy angle. Get Thranduil used to the idea of Aragorn several centuries before he turns up. I love the way that the smell of Mithrandir evokes memories in Legolas of his previous visit - scent leaps across the years more than anything. And the images - Thranduil's shoe, the smoke rings - make a lovely picture of a very sad time. Tinar - comes over as the usual idiot even in report. Orcs - Eilian and the rest going off on a mission - it's not going to take Legolas long to put the two together. (He had a tough elflinghood in many ways, despite the love shown him. Hope he found happiness in Valinor.) Glad Maltanaur is going with the Furies. At least he is skilled in keeping his captain in line. Author Reply: It's interesting to realize that all of the elflings are protected, even Turgon. I think of elves as very devoted to their children, who were few and far between. And yet, I felt that Rodda would be reasonably realistic as a boy in the army, because children were in the army in some form or other when they were very young in medieval Europe. It was their career path and that's how they were trained. I suppose if you expect to die young, you have to start young. Amdir reminds me of the little sibs of some of my friends when I was growing up. Some of them were total pests, especially if their mothers expected the older sibs to watch them or just let them play too. Ithilden really, really needed Alfirin. I think he misses his mother too, despite the fact that Thranduil and he are quite close. Actually, he's amazing because he's been able to separate from his strong father to become a person with ideas of his own who yet usually gets along with that father. He's willing to differ with Thranduil. I wonder how he got to be that way. Tinar is so handy to have around to act like an idiot. And Bodkin, you know perfectly well how happy Legolas was in Valinor. I seem to recall you writing about it!

Firnsarnien	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/16/2004
Uh oh, perhaps Rodda threw up because he remembered something extremely unpleasant and upsetting. At least that's what I think might have happened. And I really don't think those Elflings are going to be able to keep that boy hidden for much longer. Someone is bound to notice the food their taking, and that Amdir, shakes head he's a handful all right. No doubt he'll soon bumble into what their doing. Eeek! I sure hope Eilian is careful, especially for Legolas' sake. Leggy will get sick if anything happens to Eilian. Not to mention me too! LOL Can't wait to read more! I thought I had this all figured out, but you proved me wrong! Let's see what other surprises you throw our way! ;) Hurry with an update! Author Reply: We'll have to see how good your guess is, Firnsarnien. In one way, the elflings are lucky that this empty cottage is next door to Turgon's rather than Annael's, because Turgon's parent are pretty spacy. On the other hand, there's nothing like a little sibling to pry into everything! I can't imagine how Legolas would react if anything happened to Eilian. He's turned into a pretty happy kid, given his loss of his mother, but I think of him as still kind of vulnerable. Thanks for the review, Firnsarnien.

Karri	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/16/2004
A charming encounter between Legolas and Mithrandir. They meet each in many a fanfiction, but I never grow weary of new tellings of it. :-) Author Reply: Mithrandir must have looked totally exotic to an elf child. The beard alone would have marked this man-like person as foreign. Or maybe they can sense something about him as a wizard? I like these moments too.

esamen	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/16/2004
Maltanaur looked from one twin to the other with slightly narrowed eyes. “I have seen you on the training field,” he said, a little stiffly. He bowed and introduced himself. “Maltanaur. I am this one’s keeper.” He jerked his head toward Eilian, who smiled and looked up at the rafters. Hello, and great chapter! This is a terrific moment. The whole concept of the keepers just gets better with every story. They're so much fun. Too bad Maltanaur can't stay home and enjoy life more . . . but really, I think he likes living large and on the edge with Eilian. I am still hoping for lots of danger and heroic deeds. . . and a little h/c always plays well too . . . . happy writing. Author Reply: I do love Maltanaur. Beliond too for that matter, although he's not around yet in this story. They have a tough job, but Thranduil chose well. Maltanaur is a good match for Eilian. He's not going to compromise Eilian's safety at all, but he'll tolerate almost anything else. He is genuinely fond of his charge and, I never thought of it, but you're right: he probably is having fun! I'm not sure how I'd classify this story. E3 are headed for danger and heroic deed. Legolas is probably headed for trouble!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/16/2004
Oh I do love Maltanaur and he was in fine form in this chapter wasn't he? I laughed all the way through that--his skepticism over the mission and his reaction to Eilian being in charge. Too funny. And I loved Eilian's brief moment with Legolas. He can always tell when his little brother is up to something. Pity he can't do anything about it. Poor Legolas. Parents can read minds, I'm sure of it, and Legolas' father certainly can. I loved the description of Legolas' reaction/interaction to/with Mithrandir. And I enjoyed seeing Legolas recognize (though not believe) that Ithilden and Thranduil had been fighting. I bet that was a hot conversation. And the poor boy. That was very sad. Great chapter. Author Reply: Thank you, Elliska. Maltanaur has really grown on me over these course of writing these stories! He's just such a good keeper for Eilian. Thranduil chose well. And he can see trouble coming a mile away (and it's initials are E). Unfortunately, Eilian is usually amused by Legolas's mischief. You can bet that Thranduil or Ithilden would have been trying to find out what was going on. I thought that Mithrandir might look like a Man to Legolas. He'd be fascinating really. And you're right. Legolas recognizes the truth but dismisses it when he sees tension between Thranduil and Ithilden. Poor Rodda. How lonely and frightened he must be.

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